Aracely Gonzalez

I am a strong believer that we all live, learn, and grow from each experience that we have and that without growth, we wouldn’t be able to better ourselves and this world.

My name is Aracely Gonzalez I would like to introduce who I am and why I am a unique butterfly! I am an authentically Mexican American, or in other terms, a Chicana young adult. I was born and raised in Hayward for all my life. I think identifying as a low-income, first generation college student is the most important identity that I have because it allows for me to break the barriers and to further better my future. I am an open-minded, very social, and positive gal who is majoring in psychology and minoring in Spanish, in hopes to advocate more for the mental health area. I am a strong believer that we all live, learn, and grow from each experience that we have and that without growth, we wouldn’t be able to better ourselves and this world.

Through my years, I have obtained a lot of growth. Taking a closer look at my involvement here at Sonoma State, I can say that I have expanded my perspectives with the type of things that I am apart of. For starters, I am a proud EOP and TRIO student and through these programs, I have been given opportunities to help my education. My first year, I was apart of Koret Scholars which was a research group. I, alongside Dr. Martinez and two other students, were given the opportunity to look more into the aspect of happiness and present the findings at a symposium. I have also been apart of JUMP and their youth programs like the YMCA. Moving onto my second year, I joined a Latina based sorority called Lambda Theta Nu in which I’ve held positions such as social chair, treasurer, and vice- president, to name a few. A big aspect of my life has also been the Peer Mentor program in which I peer mentored incoming first-years and helped them transition into college. I loved this aspect so much that I went to the next level up which was leadership staff and became a staff coordinator; essentially a peer mentor for the peer mentors. Lastly, one of my favorite things that I’ve done has been a Summer Bridge Leader for two years in a row. I enjoy the initial connection with first-years and only hope to impact them like someone did for me.

I definitely have had my fair share of challenges at Sonoma State. A common one that got to me was being homesick. There was a point where I talked to my advisor and really had my mind set on transferring closer to home. If it wasn’t for the support system that I have here, I know I would have transferred in a heartbeat. Another challenge that I faced was adapting to a not-so-diverse campus and finding my place here where I felt comfortable and safe.

In contrast, the most positive experience that I’ve had here at Sonoma State was doing Summer Bridge. Besides the memories that I obtained, I have also obtained greater networking opportunities through the work that I’ve done.

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